Turkey Trot for the Memory aids in fight against Alzheimer's

Thursday

Nov 15, 2012 at 6:00 AM

By Bill Janson/CORRESPONDENT

When her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1999, Jane Lizotte found herself at a loss for words. Fortunately her father, Francis P. O'Connor, a longtime Shrewsbury resident who served 16 years on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, knew exactly what to say.

“I was crying and crying,” she remembered. “I couldn't catch my breath. He said, 'What are you sorry about, honey? I am the luckiest man in the world. Look at what I've had for 71 or 72 years. I've had all of you and a life that's been filled with blessings.'”

Although Mr. O'Connor died in 2007, his legacy lives on in his 10 children and 30-plus grandchildren. As part of a family-wide passion to combat Alzheimer's, Mrs. Lizotte and her nephew Liam Davidson, a ninth-grader at St. John's High School, are gearing up for the second annual Turkey Trot for the Memory.

Started last year, the Turkey Trot is a Thanksgiving morning five-mile race and two-mile fun run to raise funds for the Massachusetts/New Hampshire Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, which benefits Alzheimer's research, patients and caregivers.

The inaugural Turkey Trot included more than 500 participants and raised more than $14,000. The money raised comes from sign-up fees and separate donations. Liam said there were donations of $1,000 on the day of last year's race.

“We were amazed at the outpouring of generosity,” Mrs. Lizotte said.

Judging from early registration numbers for this year's event, it is clear that generosity has not waned. There are already 130 registered runners and walkers, and about $5,000 has been raised so far.

“Last year at this time we had about 30 (registered participants),” Liam, 15, said. “People have again been very generous in their gifts to the Turkey Trot.”

Mrs. Lizotte said her sister, Ann Iaccarino, started the Turkey Trot as a family tradition in which many members of the large family would gather on Thanksgiving morning and walk.

“During that time, my dad was sick,” said Mrs. Lizotte. “He loved to be outside. He loved the fresh air and the outdoors. Thanksgiving was a favorite holiday of his because nothing was more important to him than family and friends.”

She said the event grew to include larger numbers of friends and extended family until Mr. O'Connor passed away, when the tradition took a year hiatus. In January 2010, Mrs. Lizotte got the idea to turn the tradition into a fundraiser.

“We decided that it would be great to include the entire community and those outside the community and benefit the Alzheimer's Association,” she said.

Both organizers said the experience of seeing someone suffer from the disease helped shape their passion to fight it.

“I didn't know that much about the disease until he was diagnosed,” said Liam. “It was amazing how quickly the disease progressed. It was rough to see him forget his 10 children, my aunts and uncles and us cousins.”

Mrs. Lizotte agreed.

“When you're personally affected — when you watch it daily — it gives you more impetus to say, 'What can we do to stop this so that no one else has to go through what we're going through, because it's heartbreaking,'” she said.

The race, which follows Mr. O'Connor's longtime favorite walking route, will start at 8 a.m. Thanksgiving day at the Shrewsbury Common and will finish at Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church. There will be refreshments from the Center Café and musical performances before the race. Afterward, an awards ceremony will be held, honoring the fastest times in each age group.

The event has grown since its first year with the help of a race committee comprising Mrs. Lizotte's husband Dave, Amy Kotsopoulos, Jim Heald, Glen Lucchese and Dana Canzano. The race now has new fliers, T-shirts, a new logo and a website.

“It's not that we're reaching out to people,” she said. “People come up and say, 'This is what I can do: I can bake a pie, or I can hold out water for a couple hours on that morning.' It shows that people are invested.”

It also demonstrates Mr. O'Connor's strongly held belief, which he seems to have passed on to his children, that Shrewsbury is a special place.

“How fortunate are we to live in a community where people will come out at 8 o'clock on Thanksgiving morning to say, 'Hey, we're here for you, for one another,'” she said.

To register or for more information, visit www.turkeytrotforthememory.org.